Daily Current Affairs, 13th May 2020

1) Prime Minister announces Economic Package of Rs 20 Lakh Crore

•As the whole world is fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi addressed his countrymen and announced an Economic Package of Rs 20 Lakh crore, giving stress on land, labour, liquidity and law. Details of the Economic Package will be revealed very shortly by the Ministry of Finance. This package will intend to support farmers, labourers, fishermen, migrants and the industry of the country. Through this package, PM announced to ensure the rural India from the COVID-19 pandemic.

•During his speech, PM stressed on the local products and urged his countrymen to be “Vocal About Local”. He also mentioned that details of the phase-IV of the lockdown will be shared before 18th May, 2020. He stated that Phase-IV of the lockdown will be different from the earlier ones and will be redesigned with new rules.

Prime Minister also mentioned 5-Pillars to make India self-reliant. These 5 pillars are:

1. Economy: An economy that brings quantum jump along with incremental change.
2. Infrastructure: An infrastructure that becomes the symbol of modern India.
3. System: A system which will be based on technology.
4. Demography: A vibrant demography which would be the strength as well as the source of energy for self reliant India.
5. Demand: To improve demand and supply chain in India to enhance the Indian economy.

2) Jharkhand’s Sohrai Khovar painting & Telangana’s Telia Rumal gets GI-Tag

•The Sohrai Khovar painting of Jharkhand and Telia Rumal of Telangana have received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag from the Geographical Indications Registry. For the Sohrai Khovar painting of Jharkhand, application of GI-tag was made by Sohrai Kala Mahila Vikas Sahyog Samiti Limited. For the Telia Rumal of Telangana, application of GI-tag was made by Consortium of Puttapaka Handloom Cluster-IHDS.

About Sohrai Khovar painting:

•Local tribal women of Jharkhand practices the Sohrai Khovar painting which is a traditional and ritualistic mural art. It is primarily practised only in the district of Hazaribagh during local harvest and marriage seasons. It involves the use of local and naturally available soils of different colours in the area of Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand.

About Telia Rumal:

•Telia Rumal cloth involves complex handmade work with cotton loom which can be only created by using the traditional handloom process and and not by any other mechanical means. The teila rumal exhibits a variety of designs and motifs in three particular colours namely red, black and white.

3) Gujarat mandates digital payment for home delivery in Ahmedabad

•The Gujarat government has mandated the digital payment for all home delivery services in Ahmedabad. This step has been taken by the state government in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 through currency notes. Therefore, the payment of all the home delivery services in the city would be cashless i.e. via digital mode of payment. Hence the Cash On delivery (COD) option will not be available to the customers.

•Apart from making the home delivery services cashless, the state government has also issued a protocol which must be abide by all the delivery persons. The protocol involves the use of hand gloves, sanitation cap as well as sanitizer. The delivery persons are also required to follow the social distancing norms. They must be having Aarogya Setu app downloaded on their mobile phone.

4) Manoj Ahuja becomes new chairman of CBSE

•Odisha cadre IAS, Manoj Ahuja has been appointed the new chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). He is currently served as Special Director, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Department of Personnel and Training. He will replace Anita Karwal as the chairman of the CBSE.




5) Sania Mirza becomes 1st Indian to win Fed Cup Heart Award

•Indian tennis player Sania Mirza becomes 1st Indian to win Fed Cup Heart Award 2020 for Asia/Oceania zone. She beats Indonesia’s 16-year-old Priska Madelyn Nugroho for this category & received the award for her successful return to the court after becoming a mother. She  is one of 4 winners chosen by a public vote, alongside Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia (wins Qualifiers award), Estonian Anett Kontaveit (Europe/Africa I zone) and Mexico’s Fernanda Contreras Gomez (Americas I zone).

6) ASSOCHAM organises Indo-Bangladesh “Virtual Conference”

•Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has organised the Indo-Bangladesh “Virtual Conference”. Union DoNER Minister of State (I/C) Dr Jitendra Singh addressed the virtual conference. The conference featured the participation of Minister of Commerce Bangladesh Tipu Munshi, Chief Minister of Meghalaya Conrad Sangma and Riva Ganguli Das High commissioner to Bangladesh.

•While addressing the conference, Dr Jitendra Singh emphasized on the critical role that North Eastern Region can play to boost trade and business between the two countries. He also urged the participants to make some effort for the promotion of several items such as coal, ginger, citrus-fruit, etc. for export while cement, plastic, PVC pipes etc for import, in order to enhance trade between the two countries.

7) TDB & CII organises Digital Conference “RE-START”

•Technology Development Board (TDB) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) have jointly organised a Digital Conference “RE-START”. The digital conference “RE-START (Reboot the Economy through Science, Technology and Research Translations)” was addressed by Union Minister of Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Health & Family Welfare, Harsh Vardhan. The conference was organised on the occasion of National Technology Day.

•During the conference, Dr. Harsh Vardhan emphasized on the role played by S&T to combat COVID-19 by new discoveries, industry partnerships, and enhanced researches. The conference was followed by technical sessions on ‘Medicines & Medical Technologies’, ‘Advanced Materials: New Technology Horizons’ and ‘Technology Alliance for Global Economic Leadership’.

8) Video conference held on “Tribal livelihoods and safety”

•A video conference was held by the Minister of Tribal Affairs, Shri Arjun Munda on “Tribal livelihoods and safety”. The conference was held with States/UTs in New Delhi. The conference featured the participation of Chief Ministers, Deputy Chief Ministers, State Ministers for Tribal Affairs and state ministers for Forests from more than 20 states/UTs.

•Shri Arjun Munda addressed the conference and commended the support given by the states to the tribal livelihood by stepping up the procurement of Minor Forest Produce at the revised MSP. The working of Prime Minister’s Vandhan Yojana in the states was also reviewed by the minister during the conference.